Enhancing Critical Reading Skills: Understanding, Analysis, and Evaluation in Literature

Reading for Understanding,

Analysis and Evaluation

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Aims of this unit

•

To develop your critical reading skills

•

To expand your knowledge of literary

techniques

•

To prepare you for the S2 assessments

Learning Intentions for Today

1.

To understand what RUAE is

2.

To know the 3 elements of RUAE

3.

To begin to look at understanding questions

What is R.U.A.E?

•

RUAE is the part of this course that allows you to

show your ability to understand a text fully and

analyse the language of it.

•

The questions on a text will focus on 3 main

areas:

•

What the writer says – UNDERSTANDING

•

How the writer says it – ANALYSIS

•

How effectively the writing says it – EVALUATION

•

We will look at each of these in turn

L.I 1

L.I 2

UNDERSTANDING

Types of Understanding Questions

•

There are a number of different types of

understanding questions:



In your own words



Summarising



Context

•

You will learn how to answer each of these

different questions

L.I 3

In your own words…

•

A large number of Understanding questions

asks you to show that you know what the writer

is saying by translating important information

into your own words

•

Having an extensive vocabulary will help you

with this task. Your teacher can provide you

with spelling lists to improve your knowledge if

you need help with these questions

L.I 3

In your own words…

How to go about it

•

There are some acronyms to help you answer

these questions

•

RAP

•

PARA

L.I 3

RAP

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L.I 3

PARA

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L.I 3

In your own words…

An example

China, one of the countries that can boast of

an ancient civilisation, has a long and

mysterious history – almost 5,000 years of it!

Like most other great civilizations of the

world, China can trace her culture back to a

blend of small original tribes which have

expanded till they became the great country

we have today.

Q) In your own words, how did China develop

over time?

L.I 3

In your own words…

An example

China, one of the countries that can boast of

an ancient civilisation, has a long and

mysterious history – almost 5,000 years of it!

Like most other great civilizations of the

world, China can trace her culture 

back to a

blend of small original tribes

 which have

expanded till they became the great country

we have today

.

Q) In your own words, how did China develop

over time?

L.I 3

In your own words…

An example answer

China originally started as a

collection of small

communities that merged

together to become the China

we now know.

In your own words…

Now you try

1)

It is not necessary for Scent Hounds to

be as fast and agile as Sight Hounds –

They do not need to keep their prey in

sight. Scent hounds are built for

endurance. They can follow a scent for

long distances and even across running

water.

Q) Explain in your own words why Scent

Hounds don’t need “to be as fast and

agile as sight hounds”.

L.I 3

In your own words…

Now you try

2) Stories about haunted places are

always fascinating. What goes on there,

and how, and why? Some hauntings can

be explained as the results of ordinary

trickery. In others some natural cause is at

work, though it has not yet been traced.

Q) In your own words, what two

explanations does the writer give to

describe the belief that some places are

haunted?

L.I 3

In your own words…

Now you try

3) I’m nocturnal. I love the moonlight,

the shadows, the dark places, the

dappled murk. I’m not being poetic. I’m

simply being true to my nature, my

nocturnal nature. Like all tarantulas.

Q) In your own words, in what way is

the speaker “like all tarantulas”?

L.I 3

In your own words…

Now you try

4) Smugglers used to spread rumours that

the places where they landed their cargo

were haunted. This made local people keep

away, and accounted for strange lights seen

flitting about after dark, or peculiar sounds.

Today just occasionally tenants who want to

be moved from one house to another have

been known to stage a ‘haunt’.

Q) Using your own words, what two reasons

does the writer give for smugglers pretending

that their landing places were haunted?

L.I 3

Learning Review

1.

To understand what RUAE is

2.

To know the 3 elements of RUAE

3.

To begin to look at understanding questions

Exit Pass

On a post-it, write down:

1.

One thing you learned from today’s lesson

2.

One question you still have about what you

learned

Summarising Questions

Understanding

Starter – With your partner

Most reality TV contestants almost always have

a back story of personal triumph over adversity

which enables us to feel that we are helping

them to succeed, that we are giving them a

break when no-one else will. And perhaps this is

why Susan Boyle, who grew up in a council

house and was bullied as a child for her learning

difficulties, has proved such an enduring figure.

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Learning Intentions

1.

To develop our knowledge of Understanding

questions

2.

To understand how to answer summarising

questions

Summarise…

•

These questions are similar to “in your own

words” questions.

•

You could be asked to “list ideas” or “give

reasons”

•

These questions ask you to list a number of

points made by a writer in a section of text

•

You must still use your own words to answer

these questions

L.I 1

L.I 2

Summarise…

How to go about it

1.

Find the section of the text you are being

asked to look at

2.

Highlight/Underline the main points of the

section

3.

List these points either as sentences or bullet

points in your own words

•

Remember 

RAP

 and 

PARA

. They can be used

in these questions too.

L.I 2

Summarise…

An example

The benefits of liking football at school were simply

incalculable. I was the only Arsenal supporter in first year. But

in that glorious first football-saturated term, it didn’t matter that

I was on my own. In any case, my new best friend, a Derby

County fan, was similarly isolated. The main thing was that

you were a believer.

Transferring to secondary school was easy. I was probably

the smallest boy in the first year, but my size didn’t matter,

although my friendship with the Derby fan, the tallest by

several feet, was pretty handy; and though my performance

as a student was undistinguished (I was bunged into the ‘B’

stream at the end of the year and stayed there throughout my

entire grammar school career), the lessons were a breeze.

Even the fact that I was one of only three boys wearing shorts

wasn’t as traumatic as it should have been. As long as you

knew the name of the Burnley manager nobody much cared

that you were an eleven-year-old dressed as a six-year-old.

L.I 2

Summarise…

An example

Question:

The writer states that his interest in

football helped him fit in to his new

school and get on with his schoolmates.

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L.I 2

Summarise…

An example

The benefits of liking football at school were simply

incalculable. I was the only Arsenal supporter in first year. But

in that glorious first football-saturated term, it didn’t matter that

I was on my own. In any case, my new best friend, a Derby

County fan, was similarly isolated. The main thing was that

you were a believer.

Transferring to secondary school was easy. I was probably

the smallest boy in the first year, but my size didn’t matter,

although my friendship with the Derby fan, the tallest by

several feet, was pretty handy; and though my performance

as a student was undistinguished (I was bunged into the ‘B’

stream at the end of the year and stayed there throughout my

entire grammar school career), the lessons were a breeze.

Even the fact that I was one of only three boys wearing shorts

wasn’t as traumatic as it should have been. As long as you

knew the name of the Burnley manager nobody much cared

that you were an eleven-year-old dressed as a six-year-old.

L.I 2

Summarise…

An example

The benefits of liking football at school were simply

incalculable. 

I was the only Arsenal supporter in first year

. But

in that glorious first football-saturated term, it didn’t matter that

I was on my own. In any case, my new best friend, a Derby

County fan, was similarly isolated. The main thing was that

you were a believer.

Transferring to secondary school was easy. 

I was probably

the smallest boy in the first year

, but my size didn’t matter,

although my friendship with the Derby fan, the tallest by

several feet, was pretty handy; and though my performance

as a student was undistinguished (I was bunged into the ‘B’

stream at the end of the year and stayed there throughout my

entire grammar school career), the lessons were a breeze.

Even 

the fact that I was one of only three boys wearing shorts

wasn’t as traumatic as it should have been. As long as you

knew the name of the Burnley manager nobody much cared

that you were 

an eleven-year-old dressed as a six-year-old

.

L.I 2

Summarise…

An example answer

•

He was the only boy who

supported that particular team

•

He was smaller than all the other

boys in the class

•

He looked childish as he wore

shorts

•

(

1 mark for each

)

L.I 2

Summarise…

Now you try

Your teacher will issue a worksheet for this task.

L.I 2

Learning Review

1.

To develop our knowledge of Understanding

questions

2.

To understand how to answer summarising

questions

Exit Pass

Think of the most important word or phrase from

this lesson.

Look at the scrabble grid on the next slide.

How many points would your word be worth?

Compare with the person sitting next to you.

Context Questions

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Starter – With your partner

So if children are not so much interested in

picking up a paperback, maybe that says

more about the quality of books currently

being foisted upon them than it does about

the evils of digital entertainment. Children

are, after all, quite discriminating. If someone

writes a new Harry Potter, they’ll curl up with

it for days. If not, there’s always the games

console.

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Learning Intentions

1.

To develop our knowledge of Understanding

questions

2.

To understand how to answer context

questions

Context…

•

This type of understanding question asks you to

explain the meaning of a word or phrase used

in the text.

•

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The context means the part of the text where

the word is used

L.I 1

Context…

How to go about it…

1.

Explain the meaning of the word or phrase

2.

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L.I 2

Context…

An example…

I’m nocturnal. I love the moonlight, the

shadows, the dark places, the dappled

murk. I’m not being poetic. I’m simply

being true to my nature, my nocturnal

nature. Like all tarantulas.

Q) Show how the context helps you

understand the meaning of ‘nocturnal’.

L.I 2

Context…

An example answer…

‘Nocturnal’ means being active by

night. The writer refers to his

preference for ‘moonlight’ and ‘dark’

which both suggest night-time.

L.I 2

Now you try (1)

1968 was, I suppose, the most traumatic

year of my life. After my parents’

separation we moved into a smaller house,

but for a time, because of some sort of

chain, we were homeless and had to stay

with our neighbours; I became seriously ill

with jaundice; and I started at the local

grammar school.

Show how the context helped you

understand the word ‘traumatic’.

L.I 2

Now you try (2)

Saturday afternoon is a festive day with the

natives. The girls put on all the finery

they

can on Saturday afternoon — silk robes,

hats trimmed with fresh flowers and home-

made necklaces of vermilion tinted

blossoms.

What does the word ‘finery’ mean? How

did you work this out?

L.I 2

Now you try (3)

There are many ordinary happenings which have

frightened or startled people into believing they

were caused by ghostly means. Subterranean

movements of earth and rock in old mine-

workings, for instance, can cause very odd noises,

and miners hearing tappings and rumblings in the

underground darkness used to be sure they were

made either by earth spirits or by the spirits of

other miners long dead.

Show how the context led you to the meaning of

the word ‘subterranean’.

L.I 2

Learning Intentions

1.

To develop our knowledge of Understanding

questions

2.

To understand how to answer context

questions

Learning Review

Using the fist-to-five technique, rate your

understanding of each of the 2 learning intentions

for today

Context Questions

More Practise

Learning Intentions

1.

To be secure in our understanding of how to

answer a context question

How do you answer a context

question?

L.I 1

Copy the table below into your

notes…

L.I 1

The next slide is an extract from Robert Louis

Stevenson’s novel 

Kidnapped

The underlined words appear in your table

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L.I 1

On the 

forenoon

 of the second day, coming to the top

of a hill, I saw all the country fall away before me

down to the sea. In the 

midst

 of this 

descent

, on a

long ridge, the city of Edinburgh was smoking like a

kiln

. There was a flag upon the castle, and ships

moving or lying 

anchored

 in the 

firth

; both of which,

for as far away as they were, I could 

distinguish

clearly. Both brought my country heart into my mouth.

Presently after, I came by a house where a shepherd

lived. I got a 

rough

 direction for the neighborhood of

Cramond. I worked my way to westward, till I came

out upon the Glasgow road. And there, to my great

pleasure and wonder, I 

beheld

 a 

regiment

 marching,

every foot in time.  An old red-faced general on a grey

horse was at the one end, and at the other the

company of Grenadiers. The pride of life seemed to

mount into my brain at the sight of the red coats and

the hearing of that merry music.

L.I 1

With your partner, try to work

out the meaning of the words…

•

Your are doing this to improve your knowledge

of context questions and improve your

vocabulary

•

This is a paired task

•

The noise level should be appropriate for paired

work

•

You have until the end of the period

L.I 1

On the 

forenoon

 of the second day, coming to the top

of a hill, I saw all the country fall away before me

down to the sea. In the 

midst

 of this 

descent

, on a

long ridge, the city of Edinburgh was smoking like a

kiln

. There was a flag upon the castle, and ships

moving or lying 

anchored

 in the 

firth

; both of which,

for as far away as they were, I could 

distinguish

clearly. Both brought my country heart into my mouth.

Presently after, I came by a house where a shepherd

lived. I got a 

rough

 direction for the neighborhood of

Cramond. I worked my way to westward, till I came

out upon the Glasgow road. And there, to my great

pleasure and wonder, I 

beheld

 a 

regiment

 marching,

every foot in time.  An old red-faced general on a grey

horse was at the one end, and at the other the

company of Grenadiers. The pride of life seemed to

mount into my brain at the sight of the red coats and

the hearing of that merry music.

L.I 1

L.I 1

Learning Review

Understanding Questions

Quick Quiz

1.

What are the 3 types of question in RUAE?

2.

What are the 3 types of understanding

question?

3.

What does PARA stand for?

4.

How should you structure an answer for a

context question?

5.

What does RAP stand for?

Answers

1.

Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation

2.

“In your own words” “Summarising” “Context”

3.

PARA



Put thing into your own words



Avoid copying the text



Re-arrange similar text



Ask yourself if you have included all important points

4.

Context



State the meaning of the word



Quote and comment on words/phrases that led you to

this

5.

RAP



Read the passage



Ask yourself what the important points are



Put these points into your own words

Now try answering questions of

a full text

Passage 1 - Skateboards

ANALYSIS

Learning Intentions

1.

To understand what an analysis question is

asking you to do

2.

To understand how to answer questions on

word choice

Analysis Questions…

What are they?

•

Analysis questions ask you to comment on a

writer’s use of particular techniques

•

These techniques can include:



Word Choice



Tone



Sentence Structure



Punctuation



Imagery

•

It is your job to work out why the technique is being

used and explain what it adds to the passage

L.I 1

Analysis Questions…

What are they?

•

Over the course of the next few lessons, you will

look at each of these different techniques

•

Some analysis questions have a specific structure

to their answer (such as imagery) which you will

learn

L.I 1

WORD CHOICE

Analysis Questions

Word Choice…

What is it?

•

Questions that ask about word choice are really

asking you to pick out and comment on a

writer’s use of unusual words

•

The words that you might identify for word

choice questions are usually variations of

simple words

L.I 2

Word Choice…

Discuss in your pairs

•

Look at the two sentences below.



What is the difference between them?



How is the meaning of each sentence changed?

•

Joe walked along the corridor to his class.

•

Joe bolted along the corridor to his class.

L.I 2

Word Choice…

Denotation vs. Connotation

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L.I 2

The Association Game

•

I am going to say a word to the class.

•

I will ask someone to say the first work they

think of when they hear that word

•

The next person should say what they think of

when they hear the word said by the person

before

•

This should go around the class

•

See the next slide for an example

L.I 2

The Association Game

Mr McVicar: Blue

Laura: Cold

Jane: Ice

Sam: North Pole

John: Christmas

Sarah: Family

Paul: Love

Lisa: Heart

Etc...

L.I 2

Word Choice…

How to answer the questions…

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•

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You should lay out your answer in the following

format

L.I 2

Word Choice…

Laying out an answer

The word “__________” suggests that

________________________________________

________________________________________

OR

“___________” makes us think about

________________________________________

________________________________________

L.I 2

Word Choice…

An example

I gazed upon the schoolroom into which he took

me, as the most forlorn and desolate place I had

ever seen. I see it now. A long room with three

long rows of desks, and six of forms, and bristling

all round with pegs for hats and slates. Scraps of

old copybooks and exercises litter the dirty floor.

There is a strange unwholesome smell upon the

room, like mildewed corduroys, sweet apples

wanting air, and rotten books.

Comment on the writers use of word choice in line

6.

L.I 2

Word Choice…

An example

I gazed upon the schoolroom into which he took

me, as the most forlorn and desolate place I had

ever seen. I see it now. A long room with three

long rows of desks, and six of forms, and bristling

all round with pegs for hats and slates. Scraps of

old copybooks and exercises 

litter

 the dirty floor

.

There is a strange unwholesome smell upon the

room, like mildewed corduroys, sweet apples

wanting air, and rotten books.

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L.I 2

Word Choice…

An example

•

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L

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•

Untidy

•

Messy

•

Without care

•

Thrown away

L.I 2

Word Choice…

An example answer

The word 

“litter” 

suggests that 

the things on the

floor have been thrown there without care giving

the impression of the room being untidy and

unclean.

L.I 2

Question 1

“I could have burst into tears at that moment but I

managed to control my feelings. Half an hour

afterwards I slunk into the stable yard with a

sinking heart. No one seemed to be about.”

Quote the word which suggests the writer is so

embarrassed he does not wish to be seen.

L.I 2

Question 2

My guest was lying sprawled on his back. There

was a long knife through his heart which skewered

him to the floor.

a)

What does the word ‘sprawled’ add to the

picture of the way in which the man’s body was

lying?

b)

Explain how the word ‘skewered’ adds to the

horror of the scene.

L.I 2

Question 3

The figure was shrouded in a garment of deepest

black which concealed its head, its face, its form

and left nothing of it visible except one

outstretched hand.

a)

What associations does the choice of

“shrouded” add to this scene?

L.I 2

Question 4

Back in the main trench, I stood on the fire-step to

watch the sky whitening. Sad and stricken the

country emerged. I could see the ruined village below

the hill and the leafless trees that waited like sentries

up by Contalmaison. Down in the craters the dead

water took a dull gleam from the sky. I stared at the

tangles of wire and the leaning posts, and there

seemed no sort of comfort left in life. My steel hat

was heavy on my head while I thought how I’d been

on leave last month.

Comment of any of the writer’s use of word choice in

this extract.

L.I 2

Your turn

I gazed upon the schoolroom into which he took

me, as the most forlorn and desolate place I had

ever seen. I see it now. A long room with three

long rows of desks, and six of forms, and bristling

all round with pegs for hats and slates. Scraps of

old copybooks and exercises litter the dirty floor.

There is a strange unwholesome smell upon the

room, like mildewed corduroys, sweet apples

wanting air, and rotten books.

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L.I 2

Learning Intentions

1.

To understand what an analysis question is

asking you to do

2.

To understand how to answer questions on

word choice

Learning Review

•

I will call out 3 different colours that

corresponds to your understanding of word

choice questions. Rate your understanding



Red –No clue what was going on. I was sleeping



Yellow – Meh… So-so… More practice please



Green – Yup. I got this in the bag.

TONE

Analysis

1.

To understand what tone is

2.

To be able to answer a question on tone

Learning Intentions:

What is it?

•

The tone of a passage reflects the attitude of a

writer. In spoken English you may speak

sarcastically or politely, however this is more

difficult to understand in writing.

•

How many times have you sent a text that you

meant one way yet it was understood by

someone totally differently?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naleynXS7yo

Only if nobody is offended by foul language!

L.I 1

•

Turn to your partner and say “I love you” in

different ways:

•

Serious

•

Sarcastic

•

Humorous

•

Questioning

•

These are examples of tone in spoken language

•

Your job is to work out the tone of a written piece

Say it aloud

L.I 1

•

Register   <- What?

•

Techniques

How do we identify it?

L.I 1

Register

•

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Formal uses complex vocabulary and few

contractions

•

Informal language sounds conversational. It

uses simple language and is usually full of

contractions.

L.I 1

•

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  This is to inform you that your book has been rejected

by our publishing company as it was not up to the

required standard. In case you would like us to

reconsider it, we would suggest that you go over it

and make some necessary changes.

Register

L.I 1

•

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   You know that book I wrote? Well, the publishing

company rejected it. They thought it was awful. But

hey, I did the best I could, and I think it was great. I’m

not gonna redo it the way they said I should.

Register

L.I 1

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L.I 1

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This mindless obsession for Winnie the Pooh spans

generations. He’s everybody’s favourite bear. But why?

What about Yogi and Boo Boo, and their comical quests

for jelly sandwich-filled picnic baskets? Or the all-singing,

all-dancing Jungle Book bear, Baloo? At least those

beasts have a personality – more than can be said for that

scantily clad, fur-covered ball of lard.

Let’s face it, he’s overweight and over-rated. How often

has that thick, greedy bear underestimated the size of his

backside and got stuck in a hole? Fat chance of creating

a health-conscious society when children have the likes of

Winnie to look up to. When did you ever see him do a bit

of exercise?

Example

Identify the writer’s attitude and show

how the use of language reflects this.

(2 marks)

L.I 2

1.

Identify the tone

2.

Quote a word/expression as

evidence

3.

Explain how the

word/expression creates the

tone

How to get the marks

L.I 2

•

The writer uses a 

mocking

 tone. The 

word

choice

 of 

“mindless obsession” 

suggest that the

piece is going to be critical but by going on to

talk about a cartoon bear, it becomes humorous

as well, making it mocking.

Example Answer

L.I 2

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Examples of tone…

L.I 2

More examples of tone…

•

Angry

•

Sarcastic

•

Sympathetic

•

Nostalgic

•

Hostile

•

Pitying

•

Anxious

•

Relaxed

•

Joyous

•

Approving

•

Admiring

L.I 2

Your turn

•

On the next 5 slides are extracts from articles.

•

Your task to identify the tone being used by the

writer

HINT: The tone could come from the list of 5 that

were fully explained on the board previously

L.I 2

Extract 1

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Twelve gunmen who hijacked a jet subjected

passengers to a terrifying five-day ordeal. Shortly

after the flight took off from Kabul, Afghanistan, the

men forced the pilot to divert to Stansted Airport.

When the aircraft landed, they threatened to kill the

173 passengers — who included 21 children and a

heavily pregnant woman — and blow up the aircraft

unless they were granted asylum. The hijackers —

who were heavily armed with hand grenades, loaded

handguns and knives and knuckle-dusters — made

repeated threats to kill passengers. A steward was

beaten up and left on the tarmac with his hands tied

behind his back. Passengers were ordered to keep

their heads down and not to look up on pain of death.

L.I 2

Extract 2

In the morning I went to Elvis Presley’s birthplace. A

path behind the house led to a gift shop where you

could buy Elvis memorabilia — albums, badges,

plates, posters. There was a visitors’ book by the

door. The book had a column for remarks. Reading

down the list they said, ‘Nice’, ‘Real nice’, ‘Very nice’,

‘Nice’. Such eloquence.

L.I 2

Extract 3

You don’t build a reputation like the University’s for

no apparent reason. In fact, we believe that it’s our

devotion to quality and excellence for the last 400

years that has gained us this position. It’s a position

we are proud of and one we will do everything to

respect. Especially these days, with more and more

emphasis on quality, the University remains

committed to excellence above everything else.

L.I 2

Extract 4

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(

1

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L.I 2

Extract 5

My father, when behind the wheel, was more or less

permanently lost. Most of the time he was just kind of lost,

but whenever we got near something we were intent on

seeing he would become seriously lost. Generally it would

take him about an hour to realise that he had gone from

the first stage to the second. All during that time, as he

blundered through some unfamiliar city, making sudden

and unpredictable turns, getting honked at for going the

wrong way down one-way streets or for hesitating in the

middle of busy intersections, my mother would mildly

suggest that perhaps we should pull over and ask

directions. But my father would pretend not to hear her

and would press on in that  emiobsessional state that

tends to overcome fathers when things aren’t going well.

Eventually, after driving the wrong way down the same

one-way street so many times that merchants were

beginning to come and watch from their doorways, Dad

would stop the car and gravely announce, ‘Well, I think we

should ask directions’, in a tone suggesting that this had

been his desire all along.

L.I 2

1.

To understand what tone is

2.

To be able to answer a question on tone

Learning Intentions:

On a post-it note, note down one thing you have

learned from today’s lesson and one question you

still have about tone.

Learning Review:

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Analysis

Learning Intentions

1.

To understand what is meant by Sentence

Structure

2.

To be able to identify different types of

Sentence Structure

3.

To be able to answer a question on Sentence

Structure

Sentence Structure…

What is it?

•

The structure of a sentence means the way in

which it is made up, and how various elements

of a sentence are arranged.

•

Punctuation can help to give you clues

Recap

•

In S1 you may have looked at different types of

sentences:



Statements



Questions



Commands



Exclamations



Minor Sentences

•

The next few slides will recap these in case you

are unsure of them

Statements

•

These tell you something. They often end in a

full stop. Most sentences are statements, so it

is 

usually

 other types of sentences that you will

comment on.

Questions

•

These ask something. They 

always

 end in a

question mark. Using questions may challenge

a reader to think about an issue.

•

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

Example: “What kind of answer is that?”

Such questions aim to stir up strong feelings in the

reader, such as anger

Commands

•

These tell you to do something. They end with

either a full stop or an exclamation mark. They

are often used in advertising.



Example: “Think of a number.”

Exclamations

•

These express excitement or surprise.

•

Exclamations do not always contain verbs.

They often begin with ‘What’ or ‘How’ and end

in either an exclamation mark or a full stop.

Minor Sentences

•

These do not contain a verb. Such sentences

will be very short and may create a tense or

dramatic mood. They usually end in a full stop

or question mark.



Example: “What now?”

Sentence Structure

•

You will never be asked to simply identify the

type of sentence

•

You will be asked to explain the 

effect

 of

choosing particular types

Sentence Structure…

The length of sentences

•

You should always consider whether a

sentence is long and complex or short and

simple

•

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Sentence Structure…

Patterns in Sentences

•

There are a number of patterns we can

recognise in sentence structure

•

These are possibly easier to spot and comment

on than other forms of sentence structure

•

These include



Lists – show range and variety



Repetition – highlights an important idea



Parenthesis – gives additional information

Sentence Structure…

•

The best advice is that:



ANYTHING UNUSUAL PROBABLY DESERVES

A COMMENT

Sentence Structure…

An example

Barely a decade ago, the canine accessory list

was functional rather than fashionable with leather

leads, a rubber bone, flea powder with a tartan

waistcoat fastened with Velcro forming the basic

wardrobe. Now the inventory stretches across

frontline design houses such as Hermes, Chanel,

Aquascutum and Ralph Lauren.

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How to get the marks!

1.

Identify the particular aspect of sentence

structure being used

2.

State why it has been used

3.

Explain how effective it is

Sentence Structure…

An example

Barely a decade ago, the canine accessory list

was functional rather than fashionable with leather

leads, a rubber bone, flea powder with a tartan

waistcoat fastened with Velcro forming the basic

wardrobe. Now the inventory stretches across

frontline design houses such as 

Hermes, Chanel,

Aquascutum and Ralph Lauren.

L

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Sentence Structure…

An example answer

The writer uses a list in this sentence to show the

range of different designers who have joined the

trend of producing clothing lines for pets.

Sentence Structure…

Your turn

Birds are not the only ones to suffer. Turtles,

whales, seals and sea lions have all eaten plastic.

It is estimated that much of the plastic rubbish that

fell into the sea 50 years ago is till there today,

either floating in the huge circulating “gyres” of the

Pacific or sitting on the seabed waiting to be

gobbled up by a passing sea creature.

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The optician prescribed me glasses- to be precise,

one pair of standard issue National Health specs

of the type specifically designed to maximise the

humiliation for any child. They worked a treat.

From being a kid with poor eyesight and

moderately high esteem I became a kid with good

eyesight and low self esteem.

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In Bilbao recently for a weekend, it took me a little

while to figure out why the atmosphere was so

different to back home. Then I realised it was a

Sunday and that all the shops were closed.

In this country, whether its Chinese New Year or

Christmas, Easter or Halloween, we’re out there

answering the call of the high street. And if M&S

profits go down, it’s a crisis in the economy. We’ve

created a system in which our future depends on

our ability to shop until we drop.

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Non-stick chewing gum which cannot glue itself to

pavements, seats or shoes – and with the added

bonus of being completely bio-degradable – has

been invented by a British scientist in what is

thought to be a world first.

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